Editorial: Clear and present conflict

Thursday, Aug. 2, 2007 | 7:55 a.m.

The prospect of a union leader sitting on the Las Vegas City Council troubled members of the Nevada Ethics Commission, but nevertheless a majority decided at a May hearing that there would be no inherent conflict of interest.

And so today City Councilman Steve Ross, by virtue of winning a union election, also serves as secretary-treasurer of the Southern Nevada Building and Construction Trades Council.

Appearing Tuesday on the Las Vegas Sun news show "Face to Face With Jon Ralston," which airs on Las Vegas ONE (Cox cable channel 19), Ross defended his decision to hold both positions. He said that even before becoming a candidate for the union position, he had performed "due diligence" by seeking and obtaining favorable opinions from both the Las Vegas city attorney's office and the Ethics Commission.

But this is the same city attorney's office that in 2003 said it was OK for then-City Councilwoman Lynette Boggs McDonald to also serve on the board of Station Casinos - as long as she disclosed that fact on all city issues pertaining to gaming and publicly considered abstaining from gaming votes on a case-by-case basis.

Ross received the same advice, which, to us, is an admission that there are conflicts.

And the Ethics Commission's 4-1 decision in May - albeit replete with caution - is perplexing, given the context of the hearing's 66-page transcript. Commissioners went through a series of scenarios in which there could very well be a conflict between Ross' position as a union leader and his position as a councilman with influence over city contracting jobs.

Much of the discussion centered on whether Ross, in his secretary-treasurer's job, could promote union labor and then turn around in his councilman's job and vote fairly on a contract in which there were both union and nonunion bidders.

Ross maintained throughout the hearing that he saw no conflict. But commissioners were not so sure. Chairman Jim Kosinski at one point said to Ross, "I think you are going to be walking a field of land mines ..."

City Council positions are part time, so members are apt to have other jobs, but without such a direct conflict. We agree with Kosinski that there will be trouble ahead for Ross and we believe that he - and his constituents - will regret his taking the union job.